Posted: The Chronicle | Wednesday, October 14, 2009
By Charles Takyi - Boadu
The Security Advisor to President Mills, Brigadier General Nunoo Mensah (Rtd) has condemned the decision by the Police Council to open a Service Inquiry into the conduct of the former Director General of the Ghana Police Service (GPS), Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) and Nathan Kofi Boakye who has been recalled after being on interdiction for two years.
According to Nunoo-Mensah, the service inquiry by the police Council was not necessary, because investigations conducted so far have exonerated the senior officer from any wrongdoing. He argued that the decision of the Police Council to recall him, speaks volumes of the fact that there were no adverse findings against Kofi Boakye to warrant another investigation into his professional conduct as a Policeman.
In an interview with ‘Radio Focus’ in London on Monday, the Security Capo, who spoke in Twi, wondered what might have triggered the decision by the Police Council to call for a service inquiry, saying “If you ask me my personal opinion, I will say …, it is not important because we have already looked into the matter and established that he has done nothing wrong.” Asking - “what are we going to investigate during the inquiry?”
Brigadier General Nunoo Mensah cautioned against any such move since it has not been established that Kofi Boakye has indeed flouted professional police regulations. He noted that even if Kofi Boakye flouted the rules and regulations of the Police Service, “this is nothing that should scare anybody, we should allow the chap to do his work.”
He continued, “It is the law that says he has done nothing wrong, it is the law that is working, so if the law says that he has done nothing wrong, so be it. If the Police Council knows that he has done nothing wrong, I don’t see why he cannot come to do his work, so I am confident that he will come back to do his work.”
Even before a Board of Inquiry is put in place, questions have started emerging as to whether the Police Service have a standard procedure for conducting investigations and whether or not it is a crime for a Director General of Operations of Police to meet suspected criminals.
It is believed that some individuals and group of persons in government and the Police Service itself, are making frantic efforts to get Kofi Boakye dismissed from the Police Service.
In the statement recalling Kofi Boakye back into the Service, Information Minister, Mrs. Zita Okaikoi said the Police Council took note of the findings of the Georgina Wood Committee, which investigated the strange circumstance under which some parcels of cocaine went missing on board the MV Benjamin vessel in 2006.
The Board of Inquiry, which is yet to be set up, has been tasked to investigate whether or not the officer in question indeed abused his office, is corrupt, was involved in professional misconduct and unsatisfactory service.
The decision that the Police Service sets up a Service Inquiry is to help enquire into the conduct of ACP Kofi Boakye, as contained in the Georgina Wood Committee report, which adversely affects the image and integrity of the Police Service and the country as a whole.
This process is said to be in conformity with the Police Service Act 350 of 1970 and the Police Service (Disciplinary) Regulations 1974, L.I. 993. ACP Kofi Boakye was interdicted in 2007, following the recommendations of a committee chaired by the current chief Justice, Georgina Wood, which investigated the much-publicized MV Benjamin cocaine case.
The recommendations of the same committee led to the prosecution and subsequent conviction of Kwabena Amaning, alias Tagor, and Issa Abass for their involvement in the case, but were later freed after an Appeal Court heard their case. Though the
Georgina Wood committee made recommendations for Mr. Boakye to be prosecuted, the police administration, which was then led by Inspector General of Police (IGP), Patrick Kwarteng Acheampong, decided to interdict him in order to conduct further investigations.
A day before leaving office, former President Kufuor ordered the reinstatement of Kofi Boakye. He also asked the police administration to pay him all his entitlements.
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